By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Biram Dah Abeid, a descendant of former slaves who has been called “the Nelson Mandela of Mauritania”, and Shaparak Shajarizadeh, a prominent Iranian women’s rights activist have been honoured for their courage to fight gross violations of human rights Abeid, founder of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the […]
Politics-Big Money Nexus Feeds Corruption
By Sean Buchanan LONDON (IDN) – In the last year, anti-corruption movements across the globe have gained momentum as millions of people joined together to speak out against corruption in their governments. Protests from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia made headlines as citizens marched in Santiago, […]
UN Court Censures Myanmar for Violating Genocide Convention
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) – On January 23, 2020, a panel of 17 judges of the World Court (ICJ) voted unanimously calling on Myanmar (formerly Burma) to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide of the remaining 600,000 Rohingya that the Court stated were extremely vulnerable […]
The World’s Poorest Need Bold Actions by the Better Off
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – As the United Nations launches an ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the fate of the world’s 47 most impoverished nations – the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – has assumed added importance. UNCTAD, an organization of the UN, is therefore urging them to […]
WISHING US ALL AND OUR PLANET PEACE & SECURITY
‘Sri Lankan Son and Global Diplomat’ Jayantha Dhanapala
Viewpoint by HMGS Palihakkara* The following are extensive excerpts from the remarks by Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province, Hewa Matara Gamage Siripala Palihakkara, at the launch of the book ‘Sri Lankan Son and Global Diplomat’ about one of the country’s most outstanding public servants and internationally recognized diplomats, Ambassador […]
International Criminal Court to Launch Probe into Alleged War Crimes in Palestine
By Robert Johnson THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (IDN) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has announced plans to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestine, subsequent to a “thorough, independent and objective assessment”. At the same time, she said that she has asked the Court for a further ruling […]
Concern That Daesh/ISIS May Not Have Suffered ‘Enduring Defeat’
By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – The broad-based Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh claims to have “liberated Iraq and northeast Syria from Daesh/ISIS’s grip” over five years of “military and civilian engagement”. At its peak, Daesh/ISIS controlled nearly 110,000 square kilometers of territory, including major cities in both Iraq and Syria and attracted more […]
The UN Experts Shining a Light on Human Rights Violations
By Sean Buchanan NEW YORK (IDN) – The experts who fan out across the world to research, hold consultations and gather information on a vast range of human rights violations often find themselves caught in the crosshairs of international and domestic politics. Independent of governments and institutions – including the UN’s Human Rights Council which […]
Kosovo Elections Herald ‘Most Significant Change’ in 12 Years
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) – The Security Council has been told that the snap elections held on October 6 in Kosovo had the highest voter turnout since 2010 and represent “the most significant change in the political landscape” there in a dozen years. These were called during a difficult time of internal political […]